Local horsemen win three at the White County Fair

Monday

Jul 29, 2013 at 5:00 PM

Training takes place all year long on the half-mile oval at the White County Fairgrounds, and local horsemen saw that hard work pay off Sunday, July 28 to open up the harness racing program at the 135th annual White County Fair. Three of the 10 races on the card were won by horses owned, trained and driven by area horsemen, giving fans extra incentive to root for the home team.

Tammy Knox Of The Carmi Times

Training takes place all year long on the half-mile oval at the White County Fairgrounds, and local horsemen saw that hard work pay off Sunday, July 28 to open up the harness racing program at the 135th annual White County Fair. Three of the 10 races on the card were won by horses owned, trained and driven by area horsemen, giving fans extra incentive to root for the home team.

Tim's Finale and driver Antonio Love rallied out quickly from behind the Mike Titus starting gate and secured the front spot, putting his opponents in a game of chase for the entire mile. In the end, Tim's Finale soared under the wire by open lengths for the victory for the Barbre Stable. The flashy three-year-old roan gelding earned his second win in a row for owners Rick, Vernon and Gary Barbre of Carmi and Erwin Barbre, who made the trip to Carmi all the way from Lakeville, Minn. Tim Barbre serves as trainer for the son of Incredible Finale.

Tim's Finale is now has two wins in four starts for 2013 and picked up his fastest win of the year in a time of 1:59.4, the fastest mile of the night. Mr Three Quarters and Marcus Turner finished second followed by Sadies Art and Tom "T" Tetrick of Fairfield for third.

"Last year, this horse (Tim's Finale) was lazy and didn't know what he was doing," said Tim Barbre. "This year, he's really changed. He has matured out. He doesn't require anything special with his training or equipment. In fact, he is a good trainer when we do train him. He's just a good, sensible horse."

Many horses bred and raised by the Barbre family showcase names from family members. However, this is the first horse over the years that includes Tim's name. Rick Barbre takes care of the names each year and usually incorporates either the sire's name or the dam's name when selecting the official name.

Tim's Finale will head to Marion for the Williamson County Fair for his next start followed by a move to Balmoral Park in Chicago to finish out the year.

Another hometown horse that received a lot of cheers across the wire was Anita's Dream, driven by Don Bryant. Bryant was able to use similar strategy and get to the top spot from the start, fending off all challengers late in the race to pick up the victory, being challenged from both sides in the final strides. Anita's Dream earned the win in a time of 2:08.4 over Frontier Belle and Harold Finn Jr. followed by Crysta Belle and Buddy Simpson, highly respected horseman from Fairfield.

"It was good to get the win, and it's hard to win at home," said Bryant. "Hometown horses did well tonight and I was tickled to death. She (Anita's Dream) just dropped her head and I let her go. She lost her back shoes behind last week, but that's not important with a trotter."

Anita's Dream has been a mainstay in the Bryant barn, purchased as a yearling from an Illinois sale. The Tequila Spur mare is now seven and was a winner at Balmoral Park as a five year old for Bryant, who also owns and trains.

"She's as good as gold to fool with," said Bryant. "She doesn't cause any trouble at all."

Another local driver that had little trouble on the track was Larry Ward, who used a different form of strategy to get the win. Ward returned with his three-year-old filly Jazmin Mykal in the evening's eighth race following an accident at the Edwards County Fair last week. Ward was unseated in the pile up, and the filly got loose and ran down an embankment into two feet of water before being caught. Ward went ahead and drove in a later race on the program, but the next day revealed he had cracked his pelvic bone on his right leg, putting him on crutches. The filly came out of the incident a little better, never receiving a scratch.

The White County Fair only comes around one time a year, so participating is important to local horsemen. Ward was determined to get back in the bike and drive on his home track, despite the minor setback.

"I never decided not to drive," said Ward. "Like J.D. (Finn) said, the win was better than medicine. It hurt, but it was fine. It was so great to see the hometown guys do so well tonight. That was great. We needed that."

Ward got away slowly from the gate and was content to place Jazmin Mykal behind the early leaders of the race. Heading down the backstretch to the three-quarter mile marker, he began to get the Ft. Apache Hanover filly prepared for the final part of the race. Once the filly was pointed down the homestretch, she kicked into another gear and was able to get by leaders Fox Valley Venus and Mathew Avenatti right at the wire for the win by a nose. Witholding Terror and Fairfield's Brian Cotton was also close for third.

"I knew she (Jazmin Mykal) could pace, and I thought if I could get her around the turn and let her pace in the stretch she could get there," said Ward. "She really paced home well tonight."

The victory for Jazmin Mykal was her first in three starts for the year. Ward purchased the filly April 15 and had to make some quick decisions heading into the racing season.

"The day I bought her, I had to stake her because it was the deadline," said Ward. "She's very nice to take care of and she just kept getting better all the time. We'll head to Marion for her next start and then go to Kentucky to The Red Mile and later on to Balmoral (in Chicago). That's what we did last year."

Other horses with local ties on the racing program Sunday included Jamie Ward and Watchatalkinabout, who finished third in the final race of the night. The five-year-old I Am A Fool gelding was only a few lengths back of Dusty Dunes and Joe Haught. Mister Moni and Clay Simpson of Fairfield finished third. The Ward Stable also had a fifth place finish with Whitneyreanna, a first time starter in the evening's ninth race won by Allstar Gal and JD Finn.

Earlier in the night, Accokeek Mercury and Buddy Simpson finished third in the first race. The three-year-old colt is owned by former Carmi resident Drue Pearce and her husband, Michael Williams, who now reside in Maryland outside of Washington, D.C. The race was won by Master of Excuses and Marcus Turner with Balanced Game and J.D. Finn finishing second.

Pearce and Williams also had a three-year-old filly in the night's second race. Accokeek Aphrodite finished fourth behind High Stepper and Finn with Gumcorner Black and Eric Collier finishing second over Gumcorner Sue and Delbert Burkett for third. Fox Valley Shout took a bad step at the top of the stretch and driver David Avenatti was unseated, but outrider Twilla Reid was able to catch the loose horse with no incident following the race Avenatti walked away from the incident and reported back to the judge's stand that both he and the horse were fine following the spill.

Also on the program was Dandy's Conquest, driven by Finn for the Barbre Stable, who finished second to Mighty Oak Perfect and Turner in the fifth race in a time of 2:00.0 for the mile. The Barbre Stable also sent out Dandy Ryan, also driven by Finn, who was fifth in the sixth race of the night. Tinkers Damn and Mike Knicely were easy winners in 2:01.4 for the mile, marking an impressive addition to the 10-year-old mare's career.

According to Track Announcer Kurt Becker, Tinkers Damn is one of the few horses in Illinois to win at numerous county fair tracks in Illinois. She competed at Carmi seven years ago but didn't get the win. Tinkers Damn got her revenge Sunday with a victory, earning her 37th career win in her 123rd start for owner Randall J. Denham of Windsor, and added the 12th county fair track in Illinois to her credentials.

In an interview with Becker following the win, when asked what the key to her success was, Denham smiled and said, "It's between her ears. She's all business when the gates fold. You know she's a nice mare when I can drive and win with her."

Tinkers Damn was bred and raised by Denham. She is the daughter of Big Tom and has more than $68,000 in career earnings and will make a nice brood mare when she has completed her racing days.

The big winner of the night was driver JD Finn, who earned two wins and two seconds in six starts. Finn was a winner in the second race on the card with High Stepper, a three-year-old filly he trains for Mary Lea Jeffers of Texas and Adele Jeffers Everett of Flat Rock. He also reeled in a victory in a "catch-driving" effort for trainer Gary Gorrell of Olney in the ninth race with Allstar Gal. Both victories were not surprising for Finn, a longtime horsemen in the Midwest who hails from Newton.

Regarding his win with High Stepper, Finn said, "She's been going good lately. As long as she behaves herself, she is pretty decent and can race well."

Finn also commented about his win behind Allstar Gal, saying, "Gary (Gorrell) has really got her in good shape. She was just perfect to drive tonight."

Finn will be back in action during Tuesday night's program in Carmi with two from his barn, but he won't enjoy a day off Monday. Finn will head to Charleston and race at the Coles County Fair before coming back to the White County Fair Tuesday. Then, he will go back to Charleston to race Wednesday followed by racing programs at Lincoln Thursday and Saturday.

Racing at the White County Fair will be back on track Tuesday with a 7 p.m. post time. Five races will be featured on the card.

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